NASCAR: Unexpected change fills huge missing puzzle piece

StarCom Racing had been expected to sell their charter to Spire Motorsports for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, but that will reportedly not be the case.

Before the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season ended, it was reported that StarCom Racing would be selling the charter which they had used to run the #00 Chevrolet to another team for the 2022 season.

It was believed that StarCom Racing would be selling this charter to Spire Motorsports. In 2021, Spire Motorsports ran a two-car team, and both cars were chartered entries. The team also had a third charter that they leased out to Trackhouse Racing Team.

But they sold two of these three charters, including the one which they had leased out, to Kaulig Racing for 2022. So the pursuit of a second charter made a ton of sense, given the fact that they already run two cars.

However, the StarCom Racing charter is not going to Spire Motorsports, according to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern.

Instead, this charter is expected to be purchased by 23XI Racing, which have been seeking a second charter for several months.

During the summer, the Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned team confirmed a second car, the #45 Toyota, and a second driver, Kurt Busch, for the 2022 season.

Bubba Wallace is set to return for a second season behind the wheel of the #23 Toyota, which is already a chartered entry.

There were rumors that the team would be purchasing a second charter from Front Row Motorsports, but that deal ultimately fell through, and the Bob Jenkins-owned team plan to continue running two chartered entries in 2022.

Hamlin was adamant that the search for a charter would continue, though he admitted that the plan for 2022 was to run two cars whether a charter could be secured for Busch’s #45 Toyota or not.

Now the team have secured that final missing piece.

It is still believed that Spire Motorsports could end up with a second charter, however, given the fact that Rick Ware Racing are expected to downsize and become a two-car team after running four charters entries in 2021.

It is also believed that GMS Racing will secure one of these two charters for the car that they plan to enter full-time for the first time next year.

Daytona International Speedway is scheduled to open up the 2022 season with the 64th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 20.